Those of us who are traditionalist Christians have long said that the Hooters restaurant chain is morally bankrupt, but the time has come for it to be financially bankrupt too. Before we “family values” types take a victory lap, though, we should recognize that the chain—known for its scantily clad female servers and their wink and nod to male sexual appetites—is in trouble not because it’s too edgy but because it is not edgy enough. And that ought to tell us something about the future of American culture and the future of the church.
On one hand, a chain restaurant filing for bankruptcy shouldn’t be all that surprising. The post-COVID-19 years have transformed entire industries, and lots of them have suffered. The restaurant industry, in particular, has seen many chains—Red Lobster, for instance—facing uncertain futures. And, beyond that, no business lasts forever. Each has a life cycle, a rise and fall, just as people do. Yet, as a recent analysis by journalist Annie Joy Williams of The Atlantic shows, Hooters is losing ground for being too tame for an American culture acclimated to online pornography and OnlyFans.
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